Visions of Power

by Jeffrey Quyle

  He decided to go back to the tent where Alec lay. On the way he stopped to report in to Major Abraham, but the major was out checking the road. When the brother got to his destination, he stopped from entering when he heard voices inside.

  “So you think he will die?” one voice, he thought it was Ryan, the ingenaire, asked in a sympathetic tone.

  “I don’t know anything anyone in this camp can do to save him,” Benjamin answered. “And I wouldn’t say even if I knew how. It’s an abomination for an untalented child like him to use our powers. When the ingenairii council hears what happened, I expect Major Abraham will be forced to pay for coercing us into breaking the taboo. He’s the one responsible for the boy’s death, really.”

  “I don’t think Leslie sees it the same way,” Ryan answered, without expressing his own opinion. The two ingenairii swept back the fold of the tent to leave, and Antonio slid quickly around the corner out of sight. He didn’t hear the ingenairii’ conversation as they continued back towards the road, where they were expected to do more work.

  Antonio stayed in the shadows for a moment longer, then went into the tent. Alec lay alone on a cot there, decidedly pale, looking so relaxed Antonio didn’t know if he was still alive until he saw his chest rise and fall slightly. A seam in the tent ceiling created a shadow line on his body, and Antonio thought casually that it made a perfect cross where it’s dark shade transversed the seam of the material in Alec’s tunic. A cross. The cross! Inspired, he left and ran back to his own tent, where he opened one of his prayer books to find an old, old reference. ‘Fidei, coticula crux.’ It was the prayer he wanted.

  Taking the book with him, he returned to Alec’s tent. He laid it flat on the floor so that he could read the prayer. With his hands holding Alec’s hands he began chanting the cadence, “fidei, coticula crux…judicium Dei…agnes Dei,” he completed the prayer, and then repeated it, but at the end of the repetition he suddenly stopped, thinking he had heard someone else speak. No other voice spoke up in the silence.

  He started in a third time, and as he worked through the supplication to faith for healing, he heard another voice join him, a voice that he realized with joy, belonged to his patient. Alec looked up at him with focused eyes and completed “agnes Dei,” then smiled at the priest.

  “Thank you,” Alec gasped. “I realized I hadn’t given you the best information. I didn’t know if you would come up with the right prayer or not.”

  “Healer, your clue was a beginning that led me to the right answer,” Antonio said, “I am pleased that God has worked through me to bring you back among us. You’re too good a man to lose.”

  “I feel the same way when I have the chance to heal someone,” Alec said as he looked directly into Antonio’s eyes. “It is a privilege to be His vessel.”

  He changed topics abruptly. “The good news for now is that I am back among the living, and I know what I need to do to purge this energy that is killing me. Help me up, please.”

  “Shouldn’t you stay here and rest?” the priest asked, concerned about Alec trying to rise from a virtual deathbed.

  “I need to do this purge as quickly as I can, or I’ll sink back below the barriers. Take me somewhere outside the camp where I can let these ingenairii powers escape. I need to get away from the camp – I’m not sure exactly what will happen when I do this,” Alec said as he pushed himself up on his elbows.

  Antonio reached over and helped Alec to his feet, allowing the healer to lean heavily on him. They walked slowly through the camp out to the road, and walked a quarter mile away from camp, to a location still within sight of the camp.

  “Step away from me, please, and wait until I am finished before getting close,” Alec warned his companion as he stepped off the road onto a bluff between the road and the river.

  Alec stood still, focusing his thoughts, remembering all the complex directions that he had received while his spirit had entered its ecstasy in the vision of the cave. He brought forth the images of water, stone and fire, contained within his flesh, and then began the mental process of filtering them out, first from a place he imagined they came from, and then into a separate container, apart from his own spirit. That container, filled with the essence he projected, then grew incandescent as the powers within it combined and reacted.

  Alec drew a deep breath, and silently recited a prayer, then began the process. Yards away, still standing on the road, Antonio stood and watched. He was joined by two guards from a passing work crew, who saw the two standing by the road and came to check on them.

  “Stay back,” Antonio warned the new arrivals.

  Alec stood erect, and a humming noise began to emanate from him. He began to glow, with bands of gray, blue, and red that started to swirl around him, growing brighter and brighter until the form of Alec was no long visible inside the column of light that stood on the bluff. The colors swirled together in a darkening nexus, then began to evolve, turning silver, then white, then an indescribable incandescence that words could not describe. Antonio and the guards shielded their eyes, unable to look into the searingly bright apparition before them.

  Suddenly there was a thunderous boom that shook the ground and blew a strong gust that pressed their bodies back. Antonio looked at the site where the column of light had been. The light was gone. Alec sat on the ground, slumped over.

  Beside him, a ten-foot tall column of dark stone erupted from the ground, pointing into the sky, topped by a fountain of spring water that bubbled vitally up, then ran down the column and towards the river.

  People were coming towards them from both the road crew and the camp. Among them came the three ingenairii, startled and alarmed by their detection of the exercise of their power. Antonio ran to Alec, who was unconscious, but appeared otherwise healthy.

  He directed several men to pick the healer up and carry him back to the camp, where he was laid on his cot again, still sleeping. They were followed by Major Abraham, the ingenairii, and the major’s aide, all asking what happened. Antonio recounted the events that had unfolded during the day, up to the climax they had all witnessed or felt.

  “So you believe he is healed now?” Abraham asked.

  “He looks to still be sleeping, just as before,” the aide added.

  “He is an abomination, a breaker of the rules of the ingenairii. His uncontrolled meddling makes him dangerous to himself and anyone else around him,” Benjamin, the stone ingenaire spat out.

  “I believe he has ejected the ingenaire’s power than was harming him,” Antonio said. “I think we need to let him sleep through the night, and hope that he will rouse in the morning, cured of his injury.

  “Let’s all leave the tent now and let him rest.”

  “Agreed,” Major Abraham said, and he gestured everyone out.

  Antonio went to the mess tent, to receive the first bite of food he’d had since morning, then went to see how Captain Lewis was recovering. He still was unconscious, but looking healthy. Antonio prepared another cup of medication and began dribbling it into the patient’s mouth.

  Lewis sputtered. His eyelids quivered, then opened, looked around him without recognition for a moment, then closed again.

  Antonio sat back and waited. He watched for several minutes to see what else might happen, but Lewis remained quiet. Antonio experimentally dribbled more medicine into his mouth, and there was no further reaction, so he finished serving it all to his patient, and left the tent for the night.

  He stopped in at the tent of the second in command for the small Guard contingent attached to the expedition. “I believe your captain is improving,” he reported to Lieutenant Calla. “He briefly opened his eyes this evening. When the healer is awake tomorrow he can better tell you what to expect. I thought you might want to know in the event you’re sending a pigeon tonight.”

  The lieutenant smiled at the good news and thanked Antonio, who then continued on his way to see Major Abraham.

  “I expected to see you before this, broth
er,” Abraham told him as he was sent into the tent. “What’s your expert medical opinion?”

  “Captain Lewis opened his eyes tonight briefly, while I was medicating him. He’s resting again,” Antonio began.

  “I wasn’t expecting that, but it is very good news. Let’s hope he’ll be better soon. What of the other patient?” Abraham followed. “The Duke has a special interest in his welfare, not that I think you need any motivation to tend to him.”

  “I’ve done little more than pray for him, but with someone like him, prayer is a powerful thing,” Antonio said. “I think he may be alright tomorrow morning. In the meantime though, I am disturbed by the reaction of ingenaire Benjamin. I don’t want to sound uncharitable, but I’d suggest a guard to make sure that Alec is not disturbed tonight.”

  Abraham’s eyebrows rose. “You think it’s that serious? Well, as I said, the Duke likes this one, so I’m not going to let anything slip by. We’ll put a guard out immediately. Now, you go rest yourself, and we’ll hopefully all wake up tomorrow to a couple of healthy invalids recuperating in our midst.”

  Chapter 28 – Lewis Revives

  Major Abraham’s hopeful prediction came true. Both Alec and Lewis were conscious the next morning.

  Alec was able to sit up and eat some toast. He remembered everything that had happened up to the point when he was enveloped in the column of light, but he didn’t want to talk about it. He suspected that he had shaped the form the magic had created, the new stone spring, as he remembered his last thoughts had been that he wanted refreshment and healing.

  Antonio reported to him that Lewis had opened his eyes, and was sipping water. He had spoken a few words. Alec rose to his feet over the priest’s objections, and slowly walked with Antonio to Lewis’s tent.

  “Captain, how do you feel?” Alec asked him as he sat down.

  Lewis opened his eyes and looked at Alec. “Alec? What are you doing here?”

  Alec looked closely at Lewis, using his health vision to examine the captain closely. He saw that his skull was healed, and his brain was healing nicely as well. But a peculiar aura made him realize that the captain had lost some memories that were not restored simply by healing the brain. Alec had no idea of what blanks had been painted on Lewis’s mental tapestry.

  He ceased his health vision, and slumped on the stool. He realized he was still extremely weak himself.

  “Lewis, you were injured badly a few days ago. I came to the camp to help you heal. This is the first time you’ve been conscious in several days. You are going to feel weak the next few days, and be in some pain as well, but you are going to heal. You need to sleep and rest quite a bit so that you can get back to your old self. In the meantime, I’m going to fix some medicines for you. I’m glad to see you awake and recovering,” Alec said as he gave the captain’s hand a squeeze.

  Lewis closed his eyes again, but smiled.

  Alec stayed on the stool a few moments longer to gather his strength, then stood and walked over to the medical supplies he had left in the tent, and made a mixture that would induce sleep. He served it to Lewis, left an extra dose, and took a dose with him to his own tent as he and Antonio returned there.

  “I believe Captain Lewis will need several days of rest but will continue to heal. He will suffer some loss of memory, but I can’t see any proof that his physical abilities will be diminished, and I can’t tell what kind of memory loss or recovery he is going to have,” Alec explained. “I’m going to make a list of some supplies I’ll need for further medication. I think that a lot of this will be available by sending some soldiers out to search the countryside, but some things may only be available by trading with local farmers or at the nearest post back down the road. We won’t need any of this for a couple of days.”

  “I’m going to dose myself to rest today as well and I’ll be ready to do more tomorrow,” he added. He put his hand on Antonio’s shoulder. “You’ve done good work through all of this, and I can’t thank you enough.” He took his own dose and lay down as Antonio left the tent, feeling good that both patients were on the mend.

  While the patients were progressing, the rest of the camp was getting ready for a major undertaking. The camp was preparing to move several miles further upriver to anticipate the next segment of road construction. Abraham had received a scouting report the prior evening on where the next likely camp location should be, and went to inspect it himself to make sure it was adequately secure.

  When he returned after noon he heard Antonio’s summary of Alec’s report. “Tomorrow is scheduled to be the day we move the camp,” the major said. “Should we anticipate that those two shouldn’t move, or can we take them with us?”

  Antonio wasn’t able to answer. “My guess is that the healer could ride a horse to the next site, but whether he’ll want the captain to travel that far, I can’t say.”

  “When he awakens this afternoon or evening, tell him I need to consult with him before he sleeps further, if he is able,” Major Abraham instructed the priest. “Barring any news otherwise, I’m going to anticipate that we’ll leave the captain and the healer and a handful of Guards with them at this location until they are ready to join us.”

  Late in the afternoon Alec awoke, and was called to the major’s tent. The Lieutenant of the Guard contingent, Lt. Calla, joined him. “I’m planning to move our camp a few miles upriver tomorrow to locate us closer to the roadwork underway,” the Major reported. “Healer, I question whether you and Captain Lewis are ready to travel with us, or whether you need to remain here for a few more days of healing. If they do stay Lieutenant, I want your assessment of what detachment you feel appropriate to leave with them.”

  Alec considered the question for a few seconds before responding. “I think I could travel, but Captain Lewis should remain stationary for at least five or six more days… might as well call it a week. He’ll possibly be able to start eating solid food again in three days.”

  “Very well,” Abraham said. He turned to Calla. “That’s about as expected. I presume you’d prefer to have your own men stay here with your Captain. What is your recommendation?”

  Calla thought about the situation, feeling nervous about being in the major’s tent and asked to make a decision. “I think that the troublemakers we brought along are well under control, and we probably aren’t as critically needed to watch them as we were earlier in the trip, but I don’t want to strip you of men. I’d say that we could leave six men: a sergeant and five guards.”

  “Very good. Select your men and supply them with provisions. We’ll break camp at sunrise, and expect to see your men in eight days. They may be lucky enough to time their trip to match the supply wagons that should be coming up the road in the next few days. Thank you,” Abraham dismissed them. “Alec one more word with you.”

  Alec turned at the opening and came back to the major.

  “Healer…you have done some extraordinary things here. And as it turns out, some of the ingenairii are not particularly pleased about your actions. I want you to be aware, and consider that you may face some issues with the ingenairii – not necessarily the three I’m taking with me, but perhaps others in the future. I’m telling you this as a friend Alec. Just be aware,” Abraham said, and then dismissed Alec with a wave, apparently feeling that he had done what he could in the matter.

  Alec thanked him for the advice and left the tent. He arrived back at his own tent where he nibbled absently on some crackers, and considered what the Major had told him. He had suspected that his use of ingenaire power would be untraditional. He feared the ramifications, as he again imagined being held captive by the ingenairii.

  Alec considered his former dream of wanting to become an ingenaire. After hearing Ari discuss the events at the Cave, he’d really thought he might have a claim to someday become one of the wielders of magical powers.

  In a sense, he had. He had handled the powers the three ingenairii had funneled through him into Lewis. But he hadn’t had any clue ab
out how to use their powers the way they were supposed to be used, and he’d managed to upset the ingenairii, shutting the door on his chance to gain acceptance. He saw only two ways to resolve his problem. He could seek refuge and protection through the church, or he could hope to speak to Ari through Merle. He regretted that he’d not talked to Merle about his note regarding Ari. He rose and went to Lewis’s tent, where the Captain lay quietly awake. “How do you feel?” Alec asked.

  “I feel like I had the back of my head bashed in,” Lewis replied with a slight smile.

  “That about sums it up,” Alec said.

  “What happened?”

  “From what I’m told, one of the convicts attacked you when you weren’t looking and put a pretty good bash on the back of your head. You were unconscious from that point until I arrived and treated you. Since then you’ve been resting and healing successfully. As far I as I know, the one who attacked you was severely punished already.”

  “You don’t know which one it was?” Lewis asked.

  “No I don’t remember hearing a name,” Alec answered.

  “How long will I be in bed?”

  “I think you’ll need to stay in bed for two or three more days, and then we’ll take it slowly from there.”

  “The rest of the camp is pulling up stakes tomorrow, so you and I and a half dozen Guardsmen will stay here to recuperate, and then follow them up the road to the next worksite,” Alec explained. “Now take this dose and rest, and we’ll talk more tomorrow.”

  After seeing that the Captain was settled in, Alec returned to his own tent to rest as well. He fell quickly into a dreamless sleep that lasted throughout the night. The next morning Alec was awakened by two things; the sound of rain falling on the tent, and the sound of men breaking camp in the rain.